China's Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi has been on a marathon tour across the Pacific Islands – his visit was a sign of Beijing's willingness to close a sweeping trade and security deal with 10 countries in the region.The ambitious deal – which covered a wide range of issues, from cybersecurity to a Chinese-funded police training academy and setting up more Chinese cultural links across the Pacific nations – was meant to tie the region much closer to Beijing.But it was revealed th

Since its inception for commercial purpose in early 1900s, palm oil has been promoted as a major agro-based industry in Southeast Asian economies like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Philippines and China have long shared histories, kinships, and cultural affinities, which could be traced back to pre-colonial times in the Philippines, meaning before the Spanish colonisation.

Australia has scrapped agreements tied to China's Belt and Road initiative (BRI), prompting anger from Beijing and adding further strain to tense relations between the countries.The federal government used new powers to rip up two deals made between the state of Victoria and China.Canberra said it was backing away from the agreements to protect Australia's national interest.The Chinese embassy in Australia branded the move "provocative".It said the action by Canbe

United States (US) President Joe Biden revealed Thursday that his first phone call with Xi Jinping lasted a marathon two hours, during which he challenged his Chinese counterpart on human rights, trade and regional muscle-flexing.But an increasingly assertive Xi pushed back, according to Chinese state media, telling Biden that issues such as Beijing's crushing of opposition in Hong Kong and saber-rattling on Taiwan are China's "internal affairs.""Last night, I was in

“The UN (United Nations) was not founded to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell,” the UN second secretary-general, Dag Hammarskjöld, once said. The hell he had in mind, of course, was World War II and the Shoah, next to which most of today’s challenges pale in comparison.

With the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on 15 November, the stage is set for Malaysia to tap into the world’s largest free trade area (FTA) with 2.1 billion consumers, including China, and accounting for approximately 30 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Up next is the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – spanning the Asia-Pacific Rim countries and home to 95 million consumers as well as contributing a

United States (US) President Donald Trump took part Friday in an Asia-Pacific summit as he pushes on with challenges to his election loss, a day after Xi Jinping used the forum to hail China's growing economic clout.The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering, held online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, brings together 21 Pacific Rim countries, accounting for about 60 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP).Beijing has become the main driving force behind th

President Xi Jinping hailed China as the pivot point for global free trade Thursday, vowing to keep its "super-sized" economy open for business and warning against protectionism as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.Buoyed by the signing of the world's largest trade pact over the weekend, Xi said the Asia-Pacific is the "forerunner driving global growth" in a world hit by "multiple challenges."He vowed "openness" to trade and rejected any poss

Once United States (US) President-elect Joe Biden’s administration has made the relatively easy decisions to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, remain in the World Health Organization (WHO), and attempt to reboot the World Trade Organization (WTO), it will confront three key foreign-policy issues.